They pressed in on him, eager for the Qur’an, until their foreparts almost touched him. Then they embraced Islam, and Allah revealed their story to His Prophet ﷺ.

Al-Wāqidī (1) relates: Muḥammad ibn Ṣāliḥ told me, from Ibn Abī Ḥakīm—meaning Isḥāq—from ʿAṭāʾ ibn Yasār, from Abū Hurayrah, who said:
“When the Messenger of Allah ﷺ was sent, every idol on earth was found overturned at daybreak. The devils came to Iblīs and said, ‘There is not an idol left that has not been toppled.’ He replied, ‘A prophet has been sent—go search for him in the outlying villages.’ They searched but returned saying, ‘We could not find him.’ He said, ‘I will track him myself.’ While he was seeking, a cry rang out: ‘He is at Ḥabbatu ʼl-Qalb (2)’—that is, Mecca. There he looked for him and discovered him at Qarn al-Thaʿālib (3). He went back to the devils and said, ‘I have located him; Gabriel is with him. What do you propose?’ They answered, ‘We shall adorn temptations in the eyes of his companions and make them love them.’ He said, ‘Then I have no further concern.’

Al-Wāqidī (4) also reports: Ṭalḥah ibn ʿAmr told me, from Ibn Abī Mulaykah, from ʿAbd Allāh ibn ʿAmr:
“On the very day the Messenger of Allah ﷺ was commissioned, the devils were barred from the heavens and pelted with flaming missiles. They came to Iblīs and informed him. He said, ‘A momentous event has occurred; a prophet has arisen among you in the Holy Land, the departure point of the Children of Israel.’ They went off to Syria, then returned reporting, ‘There is no one there.’ Iblīs said, ‘I am the one to find him.’ He made for Mecca and there saw the Messenger of Allah ﷺ descending from Ḥirāʾ with Gabriel. He went back to his followers and said, ‘Aḥmad has been raised up and Gabriel is with him. What will you do?’ They replied, ‘We shall make this worldly life attractive to people.’ He said, ‘So be it, then.’

Al-Wāqidī (6) further narrates: Ṭalḥah ibn ʿAmr told me, from ʿAṭāʾ, from Ibn ʿAbbās:
“The devils used to eavesdrop on revelation, but when Muḥammad ﷺ was sent they were barred. They complained to Iblīs, who said, ‘Something new has happened.’ He climbed to the top of Abū Qubays—the first mountain placed on the face of the earth—and saw the Messenger of Allah ﷺ praying behind the Maqām. He said, ‘Go and break his neck.’ The devil advanced, swaggering, but Gabriel was beside the Prophet; Gabriel kicked him, hurling him a far distance, and the devil fled in terror.

Al-Wāqidī (7) and Abū Aḥmad al-Zubayrī both transmit, through Rabāḥ ibn Abī Maʿrūf, from Qays ibn Saʿd, from Mujāhid, a similar account, adding: “Gabriel kicked him with his foot and flung him all the way to ʿAdan.”